


The Stars and Us

by Raconteur_Reaper



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Canon, Best Friends, Boys Will Be Boys, Canon Compliant, Canon Universe, Fluff and Humor, Friendship/Love, Gen, Hollow Bastion | Radiant Garden, M/M, Male Friendship, No Spoilers for Kingdom Hearts III, Oneshot, Past Isa/Lea (Kingdom Hearts), Post-Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep, Romantic Friendship, Written Pre-Kingdom Hearts III, spoilers may be in comments though so avoid them if that is a concern for you, unless I decide to expand this story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-15
Updated: 2019-03-15
Packaged: 2019-11-18 08:26:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18117038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raconteur_Reaper/pseuds/Raconteur_Reaper
Summary: Lea found something remarkable in Hallow Bastion, sparking his and Isa's desire to infiltrate the castle for the first time and bringing them closer together.





	The Stars and Us

**Author's Note:**

> This is something I've had floating around for a while, since maybe 2015, and I only decided last week to refine it proper. It was initially drafted before KH3, so the boys' reasons for breaking into the castle are a bit different from current canon, though I still think this story is plausible. If this work is well received, I'll consider expanding it and incorporating the current canon. I love Lea and Isa and was so happy with how KH3 handled their story. I hope you have as much fun reading about these two as I did writing them!  
> Shoutout to my pal Salora_Rainriver for beta reading! She's the best; go read her stuff if you're into She-ra!  
> xoxo Rac

Seated cross-legged on the edge of the fountain in Radiant Garden’s square was a boy in blue. The book he was leafing through contained an architectural history of Hollow Bastion, and he had been studying its plans for weeks. Periodically he glanced up, foot twitching anxiously against the water basin tile. Today was the day he and his best friend, Lea, were supposed to infiltrate the castle, and he’d be damned if they weren’t appropriately prepared. They’d been coming here all summer, memorizing the shift of every guard, their respective standards for thoroughness, and the location of every castle entrance, marked and unmarked. Now he was beginning to think they’d have to reschedule. It had been ten minutes and Lea was still nowhere to be seen. Was he ok? Did he get sick? Grounded? Lost? Did he get the date confused? With a disappointed sigh, the boy in blue peeled his sweaty fingers from the floor plans and shut the book, mopping perspiration he got on the cover with his jacket sleeve before shoving it in his bag. He checked his watch. The star shaped hands indicated quarter to seven, and the light was fading fast. He’d give Lea three more minutes, but that was it.

As he rose to leave, a scraping noise sounded from behind him. Of course, the source of said noise was none other than Lea, who, with a spectacular leap, soared over the fountain on his skateboard. He wobbled like a top when he touched down on the cobblestone, but remarkably managed to stick the landing.

"Yoooo! Isa!” The redhead exclaimed, “I’ve almost got the trick, man! Did you see that?! Dude, I was flying!” His exuberance resembled a firecracker, but Isa was determined to resist his charm.

"Awesome. Next time fly here a little faster. You're late." He jerked his bag over his shoulder and crossed his arms. Truth be told, he had been paying more attention to the way Lea’s hair was set aflame by the setting sun. That was far more impressive.

"Hey- you know how hard it is to skate on cobblestone? I had to get this baby tricked out just to cruise without wiping!"

 “If its so hard why not just run?”

“Skating all the way here is still faster than running.”

“…You forgot to set your alarm again, didn’t you?” Isa rolled his eyes.

            “Nope, just got slowed down on the way, that’s all.” Lea bent over to stuff his skateboard into his bag, “You’re not gonna believe what happened- it was absolutely nuts,” he rambled on, “See, I saw this thug running off with this girl’s purse, and I just had to chase him down, y’know? Thanks to my spiffy new board here I caught up to him and then I showed him a thing or two. I got the girl her purse back no problem. And as a reward," He rose to face Isa, tapping his left cheek while he grinned, “I got a kiss.”

Isa raised his eyebrows, but Lea’s ridiculous story managed to coax a smile out of him. "Uh huh. I gotta admit, you lucked out, Lea. If you had me wait any longer, we would've missed our opportunity. That guard with the eyepatch should be switching in any minute now. Of course, you remember his timeslot, just like you remembered to set your alarm." He began to walk towards the castle.

Lea slung his bag over his head and hurried to match his friend’s brisk pace, "Okay, okay! You got me. It didn't go off. But this time I remembered to set it, swear to my bones!” He grinned, “You have to admit I made up a pretty cool excuse, though."

It was hard to stay annoyed at Lea; Isa couldn’t help but smile along. "Cool, but flimsy as cellophane. If you want to be convincing, you need more specific detail and…a little less cliché. And most importantly,” he swallowed, “you have to look me in the eye if you want me to even consider believing you. But I digress."

“Ouch.” Lea smirked, “I guess this means you do the lying if we get caught!"

 

They crawled through a small, moss obscured hole at the base of the stone wall wreathing the castle perimeter.  "Hey,” Lea murmured as the pair and slunk through the castle garden, “I haven't heard a thank you yet." 

"Thank you? For what?” Isa whispered back. He signaled with his hand for Lea to pause and he poked his head around a shrub, checking if the coast was clear. His caution was well founded; if not for their pause they would’ve ran headlong into a large, burly guard.

"Man, you forgot already? You need to get things memorized!"

"Funny coming from mister 'I actually remembered to set my alarm for once.’"

Lea huffed as he pulled two jumbo paperclips from his pocket, straightening the large edge of one as he spoke. "Ok, you were sick so I’ll cut you some slack, but if I didn’t go on the castle tour for you, we probably would’ve never learned about that room. I mean, you’re not exactly the type to slip away and lockpick your way into the hidden observatory. That’s my thing.”

Isa chuckled and gave Lea an apologetic smile, but kept his eyes focused on the distant guard. "I guess I never did thank you properly, did I? Well, thank you for finding it, Lea. It means more than I can say." He watched the guard’s bulky frame squeeze through a small door tucked away in an alcove; one of the unmarked entrances.

"You’re welcome, pal. All clear yet?" Lea bent the other paperclip into a right angle.

            Isa gave him a thumbs up but frowned when he noticed Lea’s nimble fingers fidgeting with the paperclip. “You didn’t prepare your lockpicking stuff beforehand?”

“Eh, didn’t have time at home. No biggie, though; these things are pretty easy to make. See- I already got my pick and tension wrench!” He held up the converted paperclips for Isa to see.

Isa sighed in relief, “Alright, Lea. Do your thing.” The boys exchanged determined nods and dashed towards the door in the alcove.

 

The bell on the castle’s clock tower chimed overhead while Lea wrestled with the lock on the door. He knew there wasn’t much time left; the next guard should’ve already been here by now. Fortunately, Lea worked best under pressure.

“Hurry, Lea!” Isa hissed from behind.

“Almost there!” Lea promised, raking the pick around while rotating the tension wrench, carefully depressing the pins he found within until he heard a click. “Hacker voice: I’m in.”

Lea cracked open the door to check for guards and flinched as it squeaked in protest. The hallway was vacant as far as he could tell, so he pushed the door open a little further, and saw to his right the flight of marble stairs they needed to take. Satisfied, he opened the door the rest of the way and so he and Isa could slip into the castle.

They didn’t get far when another door in the hall swung open. The guard behind it was lean, not too old but not too young, and carrying a magazine. Tucked under his arm was a lawn chair, navy blue like his uniform. A jagged scar marred his left cheek and a black eyepatch covered his right eye.

“Ol’ Eyepatch decides to show _now_?!” Lea hissed.

For a heartbeat, the boys stood like deer in headlights, statuesque in shock. If Eyepatch Guard turned to face them, it would be game over. Maybe if they stood still enough, if they closed their eyes, if they didn’t breathe, he wouldn’t notice. But, as chance would have it, Eyepatch Guard’s magazine slipped from his hand to the floor, hitting the marble with a loud slap and giving the boys just enough time to escape while he grumbled and stooped to retrieve it. Thinking fast, Lea dove into Isa, sending them skidding into the shadows beneath the stairwell.

“Further, back up further!” Lea urged. They scrambled to their knees and crawled until they were pressed flat backed against the cold stone wall.

“He’s short an eye- d’you think he spotted us?”

“Let’s hope not.”

“……”

Then Lea spoke up again; it was the same tone he used the time he had to break to his mom that he accidentally dyed all the laundry red. “Isa…”

“What?”

“We never locked the door…If he realizes it’s been unlocked…”

Isa felt his breath catch in his throat.

“Maybe he’ll think the other guard forgot to lock it? You said Eyepatch is pretty lax…all he does is sit there and read his whole shift.”

Lea made to reply, but was hushed as approaching footsteps clunked to a halt- Eyepatch Guard’s shiny black boots were planted right next to the stairs. The boys held their breath as they watched him shift around, wily dark eye sweeping the area until it settled on the staircase. He stared in their direction for what seemed like ages. Then, with a thoughtful grunt, he headed for the door. From his pocket he pulled a key ring; when he found the key he was looking for, he turned it in the lock. There was no click when it opened. Eyepatch Guard’s lips pulled into a wicked sneer at this and somehow he managed to make pulling a key from a lock menacing. Over his shoulder, he called to no one in particular, “Have fun, kiddos.” With that, he opened the door, locked it behind him, and was gone.

“What was that all about?” Lea looked at Isa and found the same confusion mirrored in his friend’s face.

“Do you think he knows?”

“I don’t wanna wait around to find out.”

“Good point. Let’s just get to the observatory.”

Lea smiled, "Lucky for us, it’s just up those many, many stairs."

 

“I want to kill the person responsible for all these stairs,” Isa groaned as they scaled yet another flight, “You’d think modernization would involve installing an elevator.”

“Isa, these are the same guys who never changed all their locks.” Lea snorted.

 By the time they reached the top of the North Tower, even Lea was winded, and they took a moment to rest on the guardrail to catch their breath.

“It’s not far now,” Lea panted, “just around that bend.” He pointed at the corner ahead. The hall was relatively sparse, with only an electric closet and a supply closet breaking the length of gilded wall. Isa followed Lea to the end of the hallway, but Lea recoiled right before they could turn the corner.  

"W-wha..?" Isa protested as he was yanked by Lea into the supply closet, “Hey, I’m not some yo-yo you can just-“

 Lea put a calloused hand to Isa’s mouth and hushed him. "Keep it down, man." He whispered. "Unless you wanna get caught by the labcoat parade." Lea motioned to the cracked closet door, and sure enough, Isa saw a pair of white coats turning the corner. The castle’s resident researchers.

"You know you can take your hand off my mouth now, right?” Even muffled, Isa’s discomfort was clear. He was close enough for Lea’s breath to tickle his face and he felt his own burn at the proximity.

 “Oops. Sorry.” Lea removed his hand and squished himself deeper in his corner, but Isa could still count every freckle on his nose. The two stared at each other in silence, eyes darting like fish about the others’ face until Isa turned his attention to the supplies on the shelves. He knew better than to touch something as precarious as feelings.

“So, um,” Isa cleared his throat, “Are they gone yet?” 

            Lea inspected the empty hallway, “Seems like it.” Still, he decided he wanted to move as fast as possible- they were too close to let it end here. “Alrighty, then,” He announced, grabbing Isa by the hand as he broke into a sprint, “Let’s move!”

           

Isa didn’t complain as he was towed along to the grand double doors where the observatory was supposedly hidden. He felt strangely happy, stumbling behind Lea; a sensation of warmth tickled his hand, climbed up his arm, and left him feeling like coattails in the wind. He was still reeling while they waited for the telltale click of the last lock conceding, and he watched in awe as Lea’s touch proved to open doors even as sturdy as these.

“Ta-da! I give you…” Lea drummed softly on the wall as the observatory came into view, “Your own private geek exhibit! Have at it, moonman!"

Isa drew in a sharp breath. “Its…Its…” he stammered, dropping his bag as he walked starry eyed into the room, “This is _amazing_!”

“I know, right? I took one look and thought, ‘oh man, my buddy Isa would love this.’ If you need some space to take it in, y’know, you’ve got it here.” He laughed at his own bad pun.

“Yeah…I’m light years away.” Isa mumbled, too enamored with his surroundings to bother with a better comeback. The ceiling was an illustrated map of the stars, each one labelled and glowing in the dim light. Warm oak shelves lined the room, brimming with books, scientific journals, and diagrams that had begun spilling onto the floor. Some were bookmarked, splayed open, or stacked in piles on little wooden desks with stray papers cluttered with notes spread out beside them. The observatory was a living organism, and a giant telescope stood beating at its heart. Lea stood quietly in the doorway, content just to back in Isa’s joy as it flooded the room.

            “It gets better.” Lea finally spoke up, grinning. “Well, if you like sandwiches for dinner,” he set down his bag and unpacked a soda and sandwich, handing them Isa. “Here’s yours. Made it myself. It’s uh, why I didn’t get around to making the lockpick stuff at home. Peanut butter, marshmallow, and lingonberry jam. And blueberry soda. Pretty sure that’s your favorite.” He rubbed the back of his neck, anxious for his friend’s reaction.

            Isa’s face crumpled as he stared at the food he was given, then carefully set it down alongside his own bag. Lea did all of this for him? Lea cared this much? He sniffed, keeping his eyes on the marble floor below that began to blur.

            Lea’s gaze immediately shifted from the floor back to Isa. “Is something wrong?”

            “N-No, I just…” Isa dabbed a hand at his misty eyes, “You’re the best, Lea.”

            To Lea’s surprise, Isa pulled him into a hug, squeezing him as if he’d turn to sand in his arms.

            “No way! I get an Isa hug for this?! Get out of town!” Lea returned the embrace, then wheezed, “Loosen up, I’m dying!” The two burst out laughing as Isa relaxed his grip, hiding his flushed face on Lea’s shoulder. When they finally regained their composure, he broke the hug.  

            “And that satisfies this month’s hug quota.” Isa teased.

            “You’re so stingy!”

            “I never said you can’t initiate one.”

 Lea smiled wryly, “You’ll regret giving me that loophole.” He then signaled behind Isa, “Hey, don’t forget about the main event over there. If you don’t check it out soon I might do it for you.”

            “Hm?” Isa turned in the direction Lea pointed. He had almost forgotten the telescope. He drifted over to the massive instrument; it was already tilted skyward, almost as if someone prepared it just for him. Engravings cut into the cool metal swirled like baroque clouds and he traced a finger lightly over the sterling ridges, trailing his hand from his height to the base. “I wonder why they’d hide such a beautiful thing from the public,” he asked, crouching down and placing an eye to the eyepiece. He was almost afraid of what he might see. “Do you really think it can see distant worlds? Other planets that teem with life like ours?”

            “Only one way to find out.”

There was a faint click when Isa turned the knob to adjust the focus, clearing the murk osbfuscating the view. And as he looked through the lens, he knew in his heart that he loved Lea. 


End file.
